Republican leaders set out key issues at Boone County Lincoln Days Banquet

U.S Senator Roy Blunt said as long as there is Republican House of Representatives there will be no more tax increases passed by Congress. The Senator from Missouri said spending caps will help ease the federal budget in the next 10 years.

Blunt made the remarks in Columbia Friday, at the annual Boone County Lincoln Days Banquet, where Blunt and Missourian Republican leaders set out some of the issues that might be key to their 2014 election campaigns.

Blunt criticized the federal healthcare law, saying he believes two years from now there will be more people uninsured. Blunt said part-time employees are one of the exceptions, and he predicts more people will be part-time workers.

"Suddenly, when the government says you have to give insurance to your employees except for these exceptions, then it’s suddenly ok to find the exceptions," Blunt said.

State Auditor Tom Schweich said investigating school district corruption has been a priority for his office. Schweich said he will be at the top of the ticket in 2014, and he hopes a more united Republican party can help him and the party succeed in the election.

"I think one of the reasons why we are not unified is then we have people point fingers at each other and use labels and names and that certain members of media, some, not all, and the Democrats use those labels to exploit us," Schweich said.

Other issues that took center stage included gun control, personal privacy and stressed the importance of communicating effectively with voters. Missouri Representative Caleb Rowden and Caleb Jones were also keynote speakers at the banquet. State Senator Kurt Schaefer followed with closing remarks.